"Its a miracle" said evangelist Angus Buchan who had collapsed after the Saturday morning session of the Mighty Men Conference 2009 at Shalom. Doctors present immediately attended to him and after an ECG and monitoring his condition interpreted it as a heart attack.

The Red Cross helicopter was called in from Pietermaritzburg and he was airlifted to a hospital there. Hospital doctors undertook a series of tests...and declared Angus clear - definitely no heart attack!

Angus, his family, the doctors and the thousands of men present claim positively that it is a miracle whilst Angus himself states "I was brought back from the brink of death by Jesus."

Although a final count has not been confirmed the estimate is that the 200 000 expected, from all corners of the world and South Africa, made their way by plane, car, motorbikes, etc etc to Shalom. All of them commented on the well organised event - from registration; road network;campsites; seating; sound equipment; and everything else which went to make this such an outstanding and awesome happening.

Greytonians, many of whom provided accommodation, were happy that the 2008 Friday gridlock was not repeated. The worst traffic build-up was on Saturday when the morning session ended at 11 and the next session only started at 5 - thousands drove into Greytown to purchase food and other items.

Angus was back in action again for the Sunday morning family service - he is taking it quietly this week prior to going back into action.
As can be seen in the aerial photo taken by Patrick Royal of Durban there were thousands and thousands of men seated on haybales round the huge stage which featured big screens so that all could see and hear.

In a telephonic interview, organiser, Andy Buchan , said that the event had run very smoothly -thanks to the hard work and team effort of the many inovled in setting up MMC and ensuring that all went well.
At this stage -no comment as yet received as to next year's Mighty Men Conference!

ends

Country Club news

Wednesday golf was won by Murray Mason & Stan Clarke. Congratulations.
Friday nights attendance draw was not won. Lee Odendaal you lost out on R700. Next draw will only be on 8 May as this Friday we will have our Happy hour & you stand a chance to win R1000 or a bottle Chivas Regal. Everybody welcome. Food will be sponsored. Bring your family and have supper at the Club.

During the MMC weekend we had a very successful 3 days. 49 Men slept at the club. Golf was very well supported and over 80 rounds of golf were played during the weekend. A Very Big thank you from Elmarie to everybody who helped during this period especially to Murray Cowie & Paul du Preez & Kinan du Plessis & last but not least to our chairman Richard Cyrus. Your help is greatly appreciated. Once again Thank You.

Dates to diarize:

Mascor monthly mug on Sat. 2 May

Squash prize giving on friday 8 May

Pannar Golf day on 9 May.

The Club would like to wish a successfull recovery to Rose Cyrus.

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St Cathryns News.

During the Easter Holidays, on Saturday 11 April 2009, the St Cathryns members and visitors played in the Prosurvey Easter Bunny Hunt, 4BBBS - and they donated Fruit, chips and easter eggs which were distributed to the local Potspruit School. The Headmistress and learners were very grateful and Thank the members for their donation.

Results of the competition are:

1st: Paul Els and Merwin Rabe 49 points

2nd: Steve Nel and Barry Oehme 47 points

3rd: Rikus Kloppers and Kevin Williams 43 points.

Nearest to pin 2/11 : Piet Coetzee

Nearest to pin 9/18: Paul Els.

Now that DA election is eventually over - hope we can all COPE !! Looks like we have no choice but to wait and ANC !!!

The St Cathryns Classic has been postponed to later on in the year - We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope to see our members and friends at a later date.
The Farmers Agri-Care Monthly Mug will be played on Saturday 30 May 2009 and we are hosting a conference for the TMA (Turf Managers Association - Green Keepers ) on the 22,23 and 24th May 2009.Members are asked to note these dates and come and play golf.

Members are reminded of the Pannar Golf Day on Saturday 9 May 2009 in Greytown, please contact the Club in Greytown should you wish to play.
To book for golf please phone Piet on 033 4441945 or 083 269 1661.

REMINDER TO RATEPAYERS.

Greytown ratepayers are reminded of the very important meeting to be held on Thursday 8th May in the Greytown Town Hall at 5.30 p.m. to confirm the proposed constitution for the formation of a Greytown ratepayer's association. In view of the new valuations, possible 1.5 rand rateage and many other aspects affecting the daily lives of every single person in Greytown and district it is so important to attend.
Do not be one of "I don't want to get involved" brigade - and then whinge about the high rates, service delivery or whatever - attend this meeting!!

ANC TAKE UMVOTI

Traditionally Umvoti, as with other rural areas of KZN has been IFP territory, but in last week's general elections the results show a very different pattern. In Umvoti's eleven wards -the ANC had a majority, national and provincial votes, in ten wards -this compares to just three wards won in the last general election in 2004.

In KZN as a whole, 62.9% of the electorate voted for the ANC which will now have to show the voters that it can actually deliver on the promises made during the campaigning. The IFP received 22.40%; DA 9.15%; newcomers COPE took 1.29% of the vote while the Minority Front claimed 2.05% in KZN.

Details of the actual voting in Umvoti, as supplied and confirmed by the IEC are as follows -these are the Provincial votes only but there was actual very little variations in the totals cast nationally and provincially:

Ward 1: 2510(ANC): 109(IFP)

Ward 2: 2475(ANC);649(IFP)

Ward 3:1869( ANC); 514(IFP)

Ward 4: 1565(ANC ) ;1485(IFP)

Ward 5: 1400(ANC); 82(IFP)

Ward 6:1309(ANC):1050(IFP)

Ward 7: 1403(ANC)1172(IFP)

Ward 8:1296(ANC)1285(IFP)

Ward 9:1665 (ANC) 1350(IFP

Ward 10:1310(ANC): 1363 (IFP)

Ward 11:1541 (ANC);1230 (IFP)

In the Provincial voting the DA received 1296 votes in Umvoti. With Umvoti and Msinga identified as "hotspots" during the lead up to the election and on election day, all went off peacefully at the various polling stations. There were a few isolated incidents which were rapidly controlled by the strong presence of Police and security forces throughout the district.

Certainly at the polling stations visited by a Greytown Gazette reporter voters and IEC personnel were relaxed .Voters in town starting queuing from 6.30 onwards despite the very chilly 6 degrees on Wednesday morning.

IFP leader Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi, while expressing his disappointment at his party's performance, congratulated the ANC President Jacob Zuma on the party's performance and gains. Dr Buthelezi stated that "the IFP's poor performance in KZN was due to poor performance by local councillors ...who did not play ball, It seems like anger among people was a factor " Dr Buthelezi stated.

ANC chairman Inkosi Bhambatha region, Councillor P.G. Mavundla said that the ANC's victory was a clear mandate to the African National Congress "that it must continue playing a leading role in its drive to change people's lives for the better on behalf of the region. He congratulated President-elect Jacob Zuma and the KZN Premier -elect Zweli Mkhize

ends

readers write

WELL DONE COSH!

Sir,

The Church of Scotland Hospital at Tugela Ferry was for me but a place alongside the road between Greytown and Dundee. Like so many dusty, rural setlements it was a place that I hurried past without pause or much thought about the vital role it plays in the lives of the huge community that it serves.

Last week circumstances gave me cause to visit the hospital with a patient who needed to attend a clinic there. What began as a rather somber visit became one of the most gratifying and enlightening experiences I have had in a long time. So often the media reports instances of our failing health system and staff who are unprofessional and uncaring to the extent that one despairs at what has happened to the “calling” and ethos of nursing as a caring profession.

Praise needs to be expressed when praise is due and so I would like to share my praise for the staff and facilities of the Church of Scotland Hospital with the readers of this newspaper. From the staff at registration to the professional staff manning the clinic, without exception all were efficient, helpful, pleasant and compassionate.

The grounds were litter free and wherever we went the facilities were scrupulously clean, an oasis in rural Africa. Although we visited the clinic on the day before elections, and I know this is traditionally a volatile area that periodically produces unspeakable casualties, never did I feel, as a solitary “umlungu”, fearful or compromised.

Comforted by the peace emanating from the humble chapel, the caring staff of the calibre of Sister Chonco and surrounded by a hubbub of engaging Zulu folk I drew tremendous encouragement from my visit to the Church of Scotland Hospital and left humbled, with my heart full of unspoken praise for the caring people who work there.

Jenny Cowie

WHERE TO FIND WATER

No -this is not about divining with a willow tree section for underground water. This is about the ongoing saga of whether there will be water or not in town.
uThukela Water , from 4th to 8th May will be working on clarifier number 1 which is to be shut off so that the bearings on the centre drum can be replaced. This is a vital repair as the situation is critical, so regardless of the reservoir level, this work has to be done.
It is very likely that this will lead to water supply problems, particularly in the upper section of town.

Uthukela’s engineer in Greytown , Trevor Rajnairan said that “the Wataka and the rest of the old plant will continue to run, and this should maintain the usual production of between 4200 and 4600 kL per day.

Everyone should store some water, but if they don’t they can get water from the Jojo tanks which we will keep full"
It is proposed Jojo tanks will be placed Cnr Durban/Erskine Streets; Sargeaunt Street( 2) ;Enhlalakahle (2);Voortrekker Street;Louis Botha: Cnr Park Lane and Erskine Streets and Duncan Place.

Mobile tankers will also be provided by uThukela.

ends

EARLY GAZETTE DEADLINES

April has been one of the most difficult months for all businesses-hopefully this number of public holidays will not be repeated for at least another ten years!

As Friday, 1st May. is a public holiday, Workers Day, display advertisers are please asked to note that the deadline fo next week's issue is Thursday 1 p.m. - we know its difficult but at least there are no more public holidays until June!

Classifieds deadline as usual. With Friday being a holiday please could sports clubs and schools submit reports by 10 a.m. on Monday.

Enjoy yet another long weekend!

Kusel Diamond Wedding Anniversary

Congratulations to Erwin and Irene Küsel who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on 22 April seen with their four hcildren in the photograph. They were married in the Wartburg Lutheran Church by Pastor Backeberg on 22nd April 1949.

The couple are well known and much loved. They have lived i on the family farm "Honey Grove" Harburg since they were married.. The farm has been in the Kusel family for over 120 years.

Long happy marriages are a feature of this family - Erwin's parents, Heini and Ida , celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 1987!

This happy 60 years was celebrated last Sunday with a special service at the Harbug Church , followed by a tea for family and friends. The Kusel's have four children and eight grandchildren

22 APRIL 2009

THE GREYTOWN GAZETTE, ON BEHALF OF UMVOTI RESIDENTS,WELCOMES THE MIGHTY MEN CONFERENCE 2009 TO GREYTOWN !

Co-ordinating the arrival, accomodation, ablutions, etc.for 200 000 is a major logistical exercise which has involved months of planning to ensure that this weekend’s Mighty Men Conference at Shalom will run smoothly for the thousands of visitors and Shalom personnel.

Now in its fourth year, the MMC has escalated from a a handful of 240 to the expected 200 000 (and could be more!)

From Monday men from all over the world will be focusing on Shalom ...the major thrust is expected after the General elections on Wednesday. However arrangements are in place for the early arrivals to vote (provincially only) at Umvoti polling stations on Election day.

When a Greytown Gazette reporter visited Shalom last Thursday it was certainly buzzing with action ... 100 000 square hay bales for seating with an additional 80 000 plastic chairs were neatly lined up in rows that went on forever as the workers continued to place more and more. The super stage structure is in the process of being erected - when complete this 600 sq metre stage will include sound towers and a roof making it about eight stories high! This will be the focal point of the three day event. On stage - main man Angus Buchan will preach and pray; Andy Buchan (chief co-ordinator) will lead the Shalom music al group band; Mighty Men FM will broadcast ( waveband 88.6 FM): God’s TV Channel will film and screen the entire proceedings live on its global network.

There will be eight giant TV screens - four have been erected on to the roof structure and another four placed diagonally so that everyone of the expected 200 000 will be able to see and hear.

After viewing the hectic preparations a quiet half hour with the man himself, Angus Buchan. Man of the soil, humble and yet with a powerful message that has been taken all over the world Angus believes that the crux is that this nation, as with all others, will be as strong as the family unit. The underlying theme is to recall men to their responsibilities -as he says “its easy to make babies but not to be a father”. With the theme “Men of Promise” from the Book of Galateans, Angus emphasises how essential it is in this time of economic meltdown and political unrest to live by faith and to trust in God. He regards it as a miracle that so many come to Shalom to listen to him.

Angus expresses the hope and belief that all will again leave MMC this year with peace in their hearts and reminded of their role in the family to protect their wives;discipline the children and put bread on the table. A reminder to all residents to stock up on petrol, foodstuffs, drinking water etc as there will be an enormous amount of traffic in and around Greytown from Thursday as the thousands of men make their way to MMC.

ends

TRIBUTE TO GUY HEWSON

He came to the world with a bang -Guy Parker Hewson was born on the 12th November 1916 in the middle of a Zeppelin bombing raid on London!

His life, even as a young child, continued to be active, exciting and very varied. In 1924 the family moved to Western Australia where they had purchased land and farmed. With the academic side of life not his favourite, at the age of 15 Guy left Australia, and by himself, via Bombay and the Seychelles travelled to Kenya to join his grandparents and other members of the family.

From there, his father sent him to England to join the navy - a brilliant choice of career.The navy became his life - he thoroughly enjoyed the danger, the excitement, the camaraderie and above all the adventure.

In paying tribute to Guy at the memorial service last Wednesday, his son Francis said “This sums up Guy’s attitude to life - not timid about anything new to add to his experience and knowledge of life.” He had a distinguished career during World War 2 in the Fleet Air Arm (the flying wing of the navy)

In 1967 Guy and his late wife Paddy came to Greytown - after years in Kenya - Paddy died in 2006.

Guy’s great sense of humour, sense of fun and knowledge of a wide range of subjects helped build many friendships. He was involved in the community -both on the playing and administration side of cricket and bowls. He worked at the Municipality for several years. A member of the Umvoti Commandos, Guy delighted in claiming “I have the dubious distinction of being the oldest active commando in the Army and as far as I know the only great-grandfather in the service.”

Guy leaves two sons, Francis and Richard in the UK and a daughter Brigid in Australia. At his request, his ashes are to be taken to Ireland.

ends

FROM THE DITCH

What a weekend!! After months of committee meetings, preparations, telephone calls and many other activities such as fertilizing and marking the greens etc -glorious weather heralded in the B.A. Dowson Fours tournament.

Eighteen mixed teams representing their own clubs converged on Greytown to enjoy a weekend of serious and not so serious bowls. Players ranging in age from about twenty to ninety three battled it out to win the coveted firsted prize of a whole sheep - each!

The first prize went to a strong team from Howick.

Results were:

Winners: Mike Andrews and his team which was the only team to win all four games:

2nd: Wally Bonne and team -Westville Doug Watson and team from Pinetown.

Greytown Bowling Club would like to thank all those who opened their homes to accommodate the visitors. To Judy Ellman, her lady helpers and also staff emembers who worked incredibly hard and produced the delicious tea time eats and wonderful meals, Klaus Fischer and his merry men for their tireless time at the bar. To Mark Irvine for supplying the music on Saturday night and a very special thanks must go to all the sponsors for the most generous prizes. It is the wonderful support of the sponsors which guarantees a return of many of the team the following year!

Now that the Dowson tournament is over it is hoped that the Club championships, which have started off at a trickle, will now gather momentum. Please take note for the score sheets on the notice board and arrange your next game. League is still on and the next game is at home against PMBG Wanderers.

ends

Greytown rugby club

Greytown rugby first fifteen had a gruelling encounter against a well oiled Winterton team last Friday evening, Greytown lost by a whopping 52 -1 7. Jean Cordy and Charles Saayman scored a try each with Moses van Rooyen slotting two conversions and a penalty.

Man of the man :forward Jean Cordy;

back: Moses van Rooyen .

Greytown rugby club members would like to thank all spectators for their support. See you all there, cheering at the next home fixture against Voortrekker Old Boys on 8th May.

ends

GREYTOWN COUNTRY CLUB NEWS

Friday night’s attendance draw was not won. Sorry AG Larken you lost out on R600. Money rolls over to this friday and will be R700 that you can win. Please support your Club and maybe you can be R700 richer.

Wednesday (22 April) Mr. R Scheffer is sponsoring the food at the Club - everybody welcome. Wishing him farewell on a 3 month tour on his motorbike. We are expecting a lot of visitors during the MMC over the weekend and just to inform you that our Happy Hour Friday will only be held on the first of May.

Monday (27 April) we will be open due to it being a public holiday so if you thinking of coming to play a round of golf. We will be here waiting for you. Saturday (9 May) Pannar golf day. Please entries at the Club. R100 per player and that includes your snacks and supper.

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Make that vital “X” today

All political parties contesting today’s General election spent the past weekend wooing voters on a grand scale to convince them of the importance of their vote. So today the Greytown Gazette reminds all registered voters to get to their Polling Station between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.to make those vital crosses. Please remember to take along your ID or temporary ID certificate. Voters unable to get to the polling stations were visited yesterday to enable them to cast their special votes.

According to Chris Pillay of Greytown IEC, 102 applications for special votes had been received by Monday. Of these 95 were approved -those not included were 6 not on the Voter’s roll and one without an ID.

Once the hype of the voting is over its the tense wait for the final results -the IEC expects to release the final verified results on Saturday 25th April. At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, when voting closes, the ballot boxes are opened and votes counted manually at each polling station in front of IEC registered party agents who sign off the completed results slip once they are satisfied the entire process has been completed freely and fairly. These provisional results are announced at each polling station by the Presiding Officer then relayed to the IEC.

For Umvoti voters results will be available for the area from about 11.30 p.m.through to about 3 a.m. at the IEC office in Bell Street (opposite the Town Offices).

Results from throughout South Africa will be available continually on the IEC website:www:elections.org.za Umvoti and Msinga have been identified as potential hotspots in this political contest - a large contingent of Police, SANDF and security personnel have been deployed to ensure that everyone will be able to cast a vote in a peaceful and secure atmosphere.

All political party leaders have pledged and committed themselves and their followers to a free, fair and peaceful election - lets keep it that way...please

ends

RATEPAYERS ... BE THERE

Umvoti ratepayers are standing up to be counted as could be seen from the excellent turn out at the meeting held last month in Greytown at which it was agreed to form a Rate Payers Association representative all share-holders -business; industry; agriculture; amakhosi and residential.

A draft constitution has been drawn up and all ratepayers are urged to attend the meeting to be held in Greytown Town Hall on Thursday 7th May at 5.30 p.m to accept the Constitution and form a legally structured ratepayers association to interact with Umvoti Municipality on important matters such as rates, IDP, budgets, projects and other relevant issues.

In terms of various national Acts Municpalities are compelled by law to consult with the public to obtain their input on matters such as the IDP, budgets and a range of activities which impact on the daily lives and pockets of communities. This is why it is absolutely essential that a legally recognised association is formed. There are many mattersof concern to the public - the implementation of the new Municipal Property Rates Act; the proposal by the Council in its draft budget that a rand rateage of 1.5 cents be imposed; the water situation; the fact that no explanation has been issued by the Council on wasteful expenditure such as the 2009 diaries and calenders etc etc.

In terms of the Municipal Systems Act (Section 21B) documents of a public nature by law have to placed on the website by the Accounting officer of the Municipality. These include budgets; adjustments; budget policies; delivery agreements; supply chain management contracts; IDP ;tariffs etc. etc..These to be placed on the webiste five days after tabled by Council.

This highlights the importance of input by the public in all Municipal decisions, policies etc - which affect them. Check out the Umvoti Municpality website on www.umvoti.org.za remember - Greytown Town hall ...Thursday 7th May at 5.30 p.m. ...be there.

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:GNOMING IN THE GARDEN

Gardening is a leveler. When you think everything is perfect in one’s little bit of heaven, suddenly everything changes. The rain goes, the perennials look finished and the black spot in the roses gets going regardless of all control measures.

But we are a pretty resilient bunch; when the times get tough, we get tougher! Continue with the rose spraying and continually dehead so there should be another lovely flush going into autumn.

MULCH heavily now, as the perennials finish make sure they are carefully “blanketed” in mulch ready for the change of season. Cut back and prune all the summer flowering shrubs, when they have really finished flowering. Hydrangeas are still flowering but when they are finished just cut back lightly the stems that have spent flowers on them. I do not ever cut hydrangeas heavily and find they flower so quickly in late spring if not too hard on them.

This is the month for all the bulbs to go in, it is getting late so do not miss out on these. Our local garden centres have lovely bulbs in stock. Scatter the lovely namaquadaisy seeds freely along the borders. They will give a wonderful splash of colour in a few months time.

It's a perfect time to plant any shrubs as they will settle down for winter and not stress in excessive heat. Come summer they will be away! Make sure the hole is as big as you can dig. Put the top soil to one side, discarding the soil from the bottom of the hole. The hole must be square’ Why a square hole and not a round one, you may ask? The roots will make their way into the corners and not go round and round as they do in the their packets. When water has disappeared, mix the top soil with well rotted compost. Remove the shrub from its plastic bag and if the roots are very compacted, gently open them out, so they can make their way into the corners of the hole. Put the shrub in the hole making sure it’s level with the top of the hole and straight. If you plant too deep, to high and crooked , it will not right itself. If it needs support do this now with a strong stake or iron dropper. Tie at the base and near the top, do NOT tie it tight or you will kill the poor thing by throttling it to death. Copious watering is now essential plus a thick layer of mulch.

Have a wonderful Easter season . Happy Gardening.

ends

St Cathryns News.

St Cathryn’s Golf Course was abuzz with golfers this weekend with the “Bunkers” golfers from Durban making a return visit to the course as well as the Farmers Agri- Care Monthly Mug which attracted our members for the Saturday competion.

On Sunday Bruce Frost’s oldies from Howick and Noodsberg played, which included Senior/ Veteran/Greytown golfer Wally Kohne who was challenged by a St Cathryn’s member to get a Par score of 5 on hole 14 stroke 2.......and “wragtig” Wally got a 5 on Hole 14, Par 5 ,Stroke 2. It was also good to see that the youngsters were among the prizewinners.

Results of The Farmers Agri -Care Mug:

1st: Barry Oehme Nett 62

2nd: Paul Els Nett 65 oco

3rd: Mbongeni Khumalo

Captain’s Putter: Marc Rommelspacher

Nearest to Pin 9/18th :Sbonelo Khumalo

At St Cathryn’s a new ladies guard is developing with Tanya, Carina and Alice who have been spotted on the course and we welcome them into our club sending a message to the current ladies champ , Liekie Steyn, that opposition is on its way.

The course will be open during these public holidays that seem never ending and for the rest of April all golfers playing golf with a St Cathryn’s member will pay for 9 Holes at members rates.

I am currently researching and compiling historic data on my late father’s family -Menzies.

My great grandfather was Thomas Alaxander Menzies and it was noted in the family Bible he died in South Africa. I have found an article in “Papers Past” relating to a Thomas Alaxander who died in York Street Greytown. It gave a brief on his life, which is close to the info I have.

I am happy if through your paper I may get some links or confirmation of his grave in your town. Thank you for your time.

Umvoti Municipal Manager Engineering Services, Mr N. Malinga has responded as follows to the front page photo and report in last week’s Greytown Gazette showing the pile up of uncollected rubbish at the transfer station. He comments:

“Residents and the public are aware of the SA Transport and Allied Worker’s Union (Sawatu) strike. Our service provider “Wasteman” is based in Pietermaritzburg and has been providing an excellent service to Umvoti as from 1st April 2009 (since the commencement of their contract) and has even worked on Saturday 04/04/2009 and a complete clean up was undertaken by Municipal staff and the waste was transported to Pietermaritzburg but due to the strike which commenced on the 7th April 2009 Wasteman had appointed a Recruitment agency to employ temporary drivers in order to provide the service to Umvoti Municipality to continue with the transportation of the refuse to Pietermaritzburg landfill site. Wasteman had contacted us on Monday morning 6th April 2009 to enquire if we needed a truck to transport the refuse but was told by the Supervisor that the container was only half full but it is unfortunate that the strike commenced the next day. It must be noted that the refuse generated at the transfer station is since the commencement of the SATAWU strike and due to the Easter weekend the waste had accumulated.

Since the strike was over on Wednesday 15th April 2009 Wasteman is back with full force removing the containers from the transfer station to eliminate our backlog.”

ends

INTER-SCHOOLS POLOCROSSE TOURNAMENT

The new polocrosse season got off to an exciting start with the Inter-School and senior tournament held at Noodsburg over the Easter weekend. The Inter-School tournament attracted a total of ninety players playing in their various divisions.

Maritzburg College won their division in a “Sudden Death” playoff when they ended their three chukkas level with a strong Weston side. College got possession and scored to take the title for 2009.

Mascor Umvoti’s Jarryd Jacklin played at number two for Maritzburg College A and had an outstanding game. Another Mascor Umvoti player, Damien O’Sullivan, was in the Maritzburg College B team which also played in the A Division. They lost their second game which was against Weston in a “Sudden Death”, but won their other two games to place them third in the Junior A Division.

Mascor Umvoti A with Caroline Minnaar, Steve Gilson and Patrick O’Sullivan, won the Open A Division, beating Nyati and Bishopstowe on the way. The final against Oaklands Polo School was a really exciting game and Caroline and Patrick had to call on all their skills and experience to hold on for a win.

Twelve Mascor Umvoti scholars were involved in the various divisions in the Inter-Schools’ Tournament. Alice Gilmore, Janine Meyer and Thembi Madonsela played in Mascor Umvoti colours and won two of their three games. Cavan O’Sullivan joined his cousin Tysen to play for St Charles. Their best game was against Oranje High School where their lack of experience allowed the Free State girls to outscore them. Dean Flowers had his first outing for Mascor Umvoti and, playing together with two Cape Town girls, played well and won the Junior C Division.

Also involved in the tournament were Zoe and Tim Hayden, Jacquie and Camryn Minnaar, Ryan Gibbs, James and Ruth O’Sullivan.

A feature of the weekend was the brilliance of the polocrosse played in the top divisions. The twelve players involved in the final were well mounted and played fast, skilful polocrosse which was a pleasure to watch. Patrick O’Sullivan has been chosen as the official umpire to accompany the South African teams on their tour of England in July. He has also been invited to spend some time in Ireland, coaching and playing in a tournament.

With the Polocrosse World Cup being played in South Africa next year, many of the weaker countries are anxious to become more competitive to make their trip to South Africa worthwhile. Australia start as favourites in the world cup with South Africa the most likely to cause an upset.

end

WHAT NO WATER?...WELL MAYBE

Once again there is a water problem looming for the long suffering residents of Greytown. The town has two clarifiers - number 2 has not been operative for some time as it needs new bearings. A tender process has been undertaken but to date no action has been taken.

Now clarifier number 1 also has a bearing problem and will have to be emptied for maintenance which in turn could create a major water supply problem. In the meantime it is is being operated manually which keeps the water flowing. However this weekend thousands and thousands of extra visitors will be in town for the MMC - so an urgent appeal to every water consumer -please don’t waste water.

Spokesman for uThukela Water in Greytown, Trevor Rajnairan told the Greytown Gazette that in view of the many extra people in town it had been decided to hold the repairs to the clarifier till next week . He said that to assist consumers about ten Jojo tanks would be set up in and around town -these will be filled and on standby.

Next week it is hoped to shut the clarifier down, to replace the bearings and align the drum. This will be a three day exercise. During this time, clarifier no.2 and the Wataka standby plant will carry the load, and if all goes well production should be maintained and there should be no shortages. uThukela will also provide mobile water tankers on standby over this period The Wataka standby plant has been started and is operational at the moment.

ends

THREE DIE IN DRIVE BY SHOOTING

It was a blood bath said Tugela Ferry residents after the massacre of three men in a drive by shooting last Wednesday evening.Taxi violence could not be ruled as the motive for the killings - according to information received the victims had been associated with a businessman, killed recently, who allegedly had links to the taxi industry.

Three men, Belaphi Benye, Gugu Mvelase and Celokuhle Sokhlea, were killed and four others injured when gunmen in a white Toyota opened fire with heavy calibre weapons. The group, all friends, had evidently bought liquour from a nearby tavern and were in and standing round a blue Corolla, near the Thala Complex in Tugela Ferry, at the time of the shooting. Two of the dead men were seated in the vehicle and the third was standing outside. According to the Police report the gunmen’s vehicle did not have registration plates. Expended cartridges of AK47; R1; R4 and R5 were recovered at the scene.

Community members have expressed their concern about increased violence in the areas. The killing of the three follows on the shooting of a local businessman, last Monday . 36 year old Lulalma Sibaya was shot and killed at a local shopping centre in Tugela Ferry. Heavy calibre weapons were used in both shootings. Police are conducting an intensive search for the killers.

ends

15 April 2009

MIGHTY MEN ON TARGET

Just over 70 000 men have registered for next week’s Mighty Men Conference at Shalom and the rate of registration is expected to increase considerably this week. Total expected is 200 000! Residents of Greytown and district are reminded that there will an enormous influx of traffic before and on the weekend. The main thrust is expected to be next Thursday and Friday as the men arrive from all corners of South Africa and abroad.

Six campsites have been set up for the bulk of the men who are expected to camp. To achieve this five neighbouring farmers, did not plant crops on the 300 000 sq metres to be used by the campers but planted grass instead. This resulted in 1.2 tonnes of grass cut and baled. Five roads have been graded and dedicated to handle the flow of traffic to Shalom and each road will lead to a different campsite. It is important for the men to take note what road they need travel on when planning their trip. As indicated on the website (www.mmc09.co.za), each campsite has been designated colours and specific routes that need to be taken to get to the allocated campsites. The organizers have requested the men to put a sticker on their windscreen representing the campsite they have booked in as this will make it easier for the ushers to direct the cars in the right direction and minimize traffic congestion.

This year meals will not be served but each campsite will have footlong franks and snacks for sale.Campers have been advised to bring their own food as far as possible and gas cookers -open fires being a no no in the dry winter weather. Pannar airport (including a 5 mile radius) will be closed a week before and on the weekend as advised by disaster management. Pilots are being asked to land at Oribi airport in Pietermaritzburg. Last year the MMC featured “the largest tent in the world” -but even that would not be big enough for the 200 000 exepcted thisyear. But there will be a superstructure stage which measures 600 square metres and the stage roof is the height of an eight story building!

Time frames for the MMC sessions are: Friday 24th 7 -9 p.m.;Saturday 25th: 9a.m. to 11a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday 26th: a family service from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m

. ends

Greytown Dotcoza

by Roy Harris

Greytown’s website is visited on a regular basis by many “old” Greytonians who still feel nostalgia for their years spent here...as well of course, by many still living in Greytown and the rest of South Africa.

The Greytown website at http://www.greytown.co.za is full of information about Greytown past, present and future. It has been “on air” for the last 5 years or so and in that time over 146 000 visits to the site have been logged and it now averages about 120 visits per day.

The site gives Greytonians 24/7 access to news and local events via regular up-dates, a calendar, links to local and other sites of general interest such as weather, FDI index for farmers and sporting events. Many local businesses are listed and are invited to send their details if they are not already listed – free of charge for a basic listing.

It also offers an excellent opportunity for ex-Greytonians and others to maintain or explore their links to Greytown through sections on family histories, farms, houses chronological history and lots more.

Over 20 % of the visitors to the site are from overseas ... one of their most popular hits being The Greytown Gazette page updated weekly enables them to keep up to date with Greytown news on-line all over the world -the Gazette is very proud of its international website audience!

There is much interest in the history of Greytown with the pages on the Bambatha Rebellion drawing the most hits.

Visitors – and especially schools, clubs, churches, NGOs and all others – are invited to contribute news of local events, diaries, articles, histories and anything of local interest. The more people contribute, the more useful and interesting the site will become and it will help to record the history of Greytown, its people and its surrounds in a format that is easily accessible to all..

Visit the site and browse around for an on-line experience with a truly local flavour.

ends

FISHING FEVA

by Edge

A reminder that some of the best bass fishing occurs during winter and some of the biggest catches are made during this season. For winter fishing we will be dealing with the different baits, their application and how to rig them.

Topwater baits are best used early in the morning or late afternoon along the banks. There are several different types of topwaters so we will start with “walk the dog “ type baits like the Zara Spook, Zara puppy or the Dying Flutter. These baits are best used with a 6 to 10lbs monofillament line which, because it floats, allows you to jig it across the surface of the water thereby getting the zig zag “walk the dog” motion. Tie your bait on with a Rapala knot which allows your bait to swing free and attain a natural movement.

Other hard bodied top water baits are the Rapala Skitterwalk, the Crazy Crawler and poppers. When throwing out your topwaters, especially under low hanging branches or near reed beds, wait for the ripples to cease before retrieval as Bass will often take as soon as the bait hits the water or shortly after. With a popper, use an irregular retrieval with plenty of stops and starts to create interest. At first light or as the last rays of the sun hit the water as it’s getting late,try throwing your bait out into deep water and retrieve towards the shallows for some good results.

ends

BEWARE of SCAMMERS!

A case of fraud(theft by false pretences) has been opened in Greytown after a local man was conned out of R50 000 by two smooth talking socalled “traditional healers.” A Greytown Police spokesman asked the Greytown Ga zette to report on this scam so that no-one else would fall for it.

It all started, when the complainant,desperate to help his sick child , who had been ill since birth,

contacted the “healers” through a cellphone number on a pamphlet being distributed throughout the town. He was told that his forefathers had informed them that if he had R50 000 he would eventually receive eight million rand.

At a house in Muden , he gave them R50 and a basin of water they requested. The container was placed in the basin and covered with a cloth. After a while, the cloth was lifted off and it had multiplied!There was R120 in the container!

Next stage was a prayer on the banks of the Mooi River where his”ancestors” said that they were angry as he had unclaimed wealth and this was why his child was sick. However , if he placed R90 000 in the river, all would be forgiven,his child would be well and he would get the unclaimed 8 million.

The complainant drew out all the money he had saved over the years -R50 000 ,handed it over to the two con men....and that was the last he saw of his money.

On reporting the matter to the Greytown Police, Inspector Dlamini managed to contact one of the two .The leader , was traced to Durban and said he would come back and return the money. However at the time of going to press this had not happened.

This is an urgent warning to all -there is no such thing as a “quick buck”. If someone offers to multiply your money ...don’t!The only one who is going to be any richer is the conman...not you.

ends

MAKE YOUR X NEXT WEDNESDAY!

In this last week of electioneering there is still a considerable amount of frenetic campaigning by the major political parties contesting South Africa’s fourth democratic election There are 41 720 votes up for grabs in Umvoti so voters are being wooed with promises, tee shirts,sports;etc etc to convince them to make their mark for that particular party. There are two elections taking place next Wednesday with a separate ballot paper for each.-National for representatives in Parliament and Provincial for Provincial legislature members.

The 26 Parties on the national ballot are;

A Party;

Africa Muslim Party;

African Christian Alliance;

African Christian Democratic;

African Independent Congress;

African National Congress;

African People’s Convention:

Al Jamah-Ah;

Alliance of Free Democrats;

Black Consciousness Party;

Cape Party:

Christian Party;

Christian Democratic Alliance;

Congress of the People;

Democratic Alliance ;

Dikwankwetla Party of S.A.;

Great Kongress of S.A.:

Independent Democrats;

Inkatha Freedom Party;

Keep it Straight and Simple;

Minority Front;

Movement Democratic Party

National Alliance;

National Democratic Convention;

National Party S.A. ;

New Vision party;

Pan Africanist Congress of Azania;

Pan Africanist Movement;

Peace and Justice Congress;

Sindawonye Progressive party;

S.A. Democratic Congress;

S,A.Political party;

United Christian Democratic Party;

United Democratic Movement;

United Independent Front;

Universal Party;

VryheidsFront plus;

Women Forward; and

Ximoko Party.

Seventeen parties registered for the KZN Provincial legislature are:

African Christian Democratic Party;

African National Congress;

Al Jama-ah;

Congress of the People;

Democratic Alliance;

Great Kongress of South Africa;

Independent Democrats;

Inkatha Freedom Party;

National Democratic Convention:

Pan Africanist Congress of Azania;

S.A. Democratic Congress;

United Christian Democratic Party;

United Democratic Movement;

Vryheidsfront Plus; and

Women Forward

On each ballot paper there is the name of the party:the party logo;and a photo of the party leader: and the voter puts the “X” in the empty block alongside the party of choice. To cover the 2 608 square kilometers of Umvoti there are 56 voting stations and the 500 electoral staff have been fully trained by the Greytown IEC. Following on the voter registration campaigns held in November and February there are a total of 41 720 voters ready to make their mark.. thats just over three thousand for the very first time!

Ballot boxes and voting papers will be delivered by Greytown IEC personnel from 4 a.m. , with a Police escort ,to all the stations on the 22nd in time for the opening at 7 a.m . To ensure hassle free voting two SAPS members will be on duty throughout and there will be roving patrols as back up. Fifteen of the outlying voting stations do not have electricity so battery operated lights have been supplied with gas lamps and candles as emergency back up! Up to date checks have been carried out on all electronic equipment at the voting stations. Voting stations close at 9 p.m. and Umvoti IEC personnel expect results to be announced within hours. All results will be on the IEC website:www.elections.org.za Voters are reminded that to have their Identity Documents or temporary ID certificate with them, otherwise they will not be permitted to vote.

The Department of Home Affairs is to open on Election Day , in Greytown and elsewhere, to assist anyone with queries regarding their status, as well as temporary identity certificates. Special votes for voters unable to visit a voting station because of illness, disability or pregnancy , can apply for a special vote on Monday 20th . The required form to apply, VEC1 is obtainable either from the IEC office in Bell Street ; any voting station or downloaded from the website The form must be filled in by the voter applicant and returned. If approved, the special voter will be visited by IEC officials on the 21st to vote.

To the 40 000 plus voters in Umvoti - here’s to a hassle free, peaceful free and fair election on Wednesday 22nd

ends.

A METICULOUS POLICEMAN

Commenting on the affidavit submitted by the defence in the Kunene murder trial, KZN head of organised crime, Mr J. Booysen, said he did not believe that the late Superintendent Z. Chonco was responsible for the affidavit as alleged by the defence . He said that Chonco was not conniving -”he was a meticulous policeman..

Kunene,together with M.Khosa and M.Khumalo of Msinga are accused of kidnapping and murdering Ballito estate agent Lynne Hume in December 2007.

The case is being heard in the Bloemfontein High Court, by Judge M.H. Rampai and has been postponed to May. 4th when a State witness will testify.

Superintendent Chonco of Kranskop was killed in a taxi violence shooting last year. Kunene, in his defence, handed in a copy of an affidavit, purportedly written by Chonco ,outlining a conspiracy for an elaborate plan to kill Lynne Hume. The conspiracy was evidently to ensure that Kunene did not become a threat to national security in relation to the ANC hoax e-mail case (Kunene was later acquitted on these charges). It was alleged that he would introduce Hume as a witness in his defence in the hoax case and that Chonco had been assigned the to draw up a plan to kill Hume . The State had submitted that Kunene himself had written the affidavit, not Chonco .

Judge Rampai initially provisionally accepted the affidavit as hearsay evidence . The State applied to re-open the State’s case after the Court allowed the document

ends

TRASH BY THE TON!

This is an environmental disaster waiting to happen! Even from last week the putrid smell of rotting rubbish as it piled up at the Umvoti Municipal transfer station was overpowering. .It would appear that whoever the new”temporary” rubbish removal contractor , has not been collecting for at least a week. The contract of the previous contractor,”Ubuntu” expired at the end of March, and as was stated in last week’s issue by the contractor, the Municipality were given six month’s notice...but the appropriate vehicle is evidently only to be available in May/June. This excessive mound of rubbish is potentially a major health hazard .Normally the bags would be loaded into the special containers and then transported through to Pietermaritzburg -in the photograph on the left the area where the rubbish was offloaded into a shute and then compacted can be seen. But that is not now being done and the top area,shute, compacter are full of rubbish. It wll be an interesting exercise as to how the contractor will load the piles and piles of bags seen in the middle of the transfer station. When the normal process is followed there are special leachite and methane control elements which obviously are not in operation with the accumulation as seen.This can lead to a very serious environmental and health problem as the leachiteis wahsed down the stormwater drain into the Greytown stream affecting Enhlalakahle residents and farmers.

The Greytown Gazette contacted other Municipalities and was informed that contractors worked on a daily basis -weekends and public holidays included! This has the potential of becoming a major problem for the town -let’s hope that the Municipality takes urgent action before the situaiton gets any worse.

.The top loading section,shute and compactor which would normally cope with Greytown’s domestic rubbish on a daily basis...but as can be seen from the pile up of rubbish on the right of the pic...it’s not!

KZN SHEEPDOG TRIALS

The 2009 KwaZulu-Natal Dog of the Year Sheepdog Trials will be held on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 April at Linton Farm, Mooi River. On each day the starting time will be 7:30 and will continue until about 4 p.m.

Dogs and their owners from all over South Africa, and two entrants from Zimbabwe, are expected to take part.

Directions: From Durban, turn off the N3 to Mooi River and take the R103 to Estcourt. Travel for 5.8km then turn right on to the first Middelrus gravel road (P18). Travel for 1.3km then turn right on to the D54, travel 2km then turn right on to the D161. From there, follow the sheepdog signs.

ENDS

E-MAIL TRACKING.

By now, I suspect everyone is familiar with www.snopes.com http://www.snopes.com and/or www.truthorfiction.com http://www.truthorfiction.com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.

Advice from Snopes.com Very important!

1) Any time you see an E-Mail that says forward this on to ‘10’ (or however many) of your friends, sign this petition, or you’ll get bad luck, good luck, you’ll see something funny on your screen after you send it, or whatever, it almost always has an E-Mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and E-Mails of those folks you forward to.

The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of ‘active’ E-Mail addresses to use in SPAM E-Mails, or sell to other spammers. Even when you get emails that demand you send the email on if you’re not ashamed of God/Jesus ....that’s E-mail tracking and they’re playing on our conscience. These people don’t care how they get your email addresses - just as long as they get them. Also, emails that talk about a missing child or a child with an incurable disease - “how would you feel if that was your child”....E-mail Tracking!!!

Ignore them and don’t participate!

2) Almost all E-Mails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of E-Mail is, is a way to get names and ‘cookie’ tracking information for telemarketers and spammers - - to validate active E-Mail accounts for their own profitable purposes.

You can do your friends and family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them; you will be providing a service to your friends, and will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam E-Mails in the future!

If you have been sending out (FORWARDING) the above kinds of E-Mail, now you know why you get so much SPAM!

Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those types of listings regardless how inviting they might sound!...or make you feel guilty if you don’t!...it’s all about getting email addresses - nothing more!

You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT! Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later and very possibly a virus attached! Plus, you are helping the spammers get rich! Let’s don’t make it easy for them!

Also: E-Mail petitions are NOT acceptable to White House, Congress or any other organization - i.e. social security, etc. To be acceptable, petitions must have a signed signature and full address of the person signing the petition, so this is a waste of time and you’re just helping the Email trackers.

Please read the full story here:

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.asp

Also, when forwarding mail, delete the senders name and e-mail address before forwarding.

ends

8 April 2009

HALF A MILLION FIRE DAMAGE

Damage estimated at half million rand was caused by a fire which broke out in the CPS building in Pine Street just before 7 p.m. on Sunday.

A spokesman for Rural Metro told the Greytown Gazette that at this stage the cause of the fire was unknown but was being investigated by Rural Metro and a forensic team. As can be seen inthe photograph there was considerable damage to one vehicle, documents and furniture in the area where the fire broke out.

It was finally brought under control just after 9 p.m.
Rural Metro expressed appreciation of the assistance given by the Police; security firms and members of the public.

In addition the fact that CPS had conformed with the proper fire procedure as advised by Rural Metro was of considerable assistance in containing the fire.

ENDS

CRIME AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

Greytown station commissioner, Superintendent S.P. Maphalala has issued the following on crime awareness to assist the public in preventing crime and stated “let us work together in fighting crime"

Report illegal firearms or abuse of to the SAPS. Phone Crime Stop 086 00 10111 for details on the commission of crime

Take action against corruption which is the abuse of power entrusted to every SAPS member or Government servant by the Government and the community.Anyone, including Police;Government: personnel is guilty of corruption if they use power illegally and unfairly to the advantage of another person. Anyone who knows any individual who is involved in any corrupt or criminal activity including cash in transit heists;car hi jacking;ATM bombing;robbery;drug dealing; selling dockets to aid detainees to escape;bribery and embezzlement, should report such crimes.

The 2009, TUTA CARRIERS Club championship was played this weekend under absolute perfect conditions at the St Cathryn’s Golf Estate. Members from as far as Bloemfontein, Durban and Pietermaritzburg made up a strong field of 18 players who contested in the A, B, C and ladies divisions. The course was well groomed and the greens in great condition - thanks to a greenkeeper who is passionate about his course and the game.

The competition in the Ladies division was intense as usual but Liekie Steyn successfully defended her title for the fifth consecutive year, with a gross score of 182 shots. This score also placed her amongst the top three of the men’s, C-division resulting in many of the offended male contenders to vow that they would practice harder and play more often and that “….next year will be a different story”.

The C- Division was won by the Greenkeeper, Barman and Estate Manager, Piet Nel on an excellent gross score of 175. An overwhelmed Piet said afterwards ….” I always wanted to be the proud owner of a C-Cup”. Runner up was Piet Coetzee on 180 and third Greg Eayrs on 182.

The B- Division was won by Klaus Klüver who taught the youngster a golf lesson with a gross score of 156 beating Merw Rabe on 165 with 9 shots. Third in this division was Steve Nel on 168.

The A-division started of as a fiercely contested battle between the defending champion Erik Kloppers and Paul Els, with only three shots between the two after the first day’s play. The Sunday was a different story with Paul Els playing like “Something Else” when he played a magnificent 12 under 60, nett score, with rounds of 35 and 29, winning him the Club Championship and A-Division with a gross of 137 shots. The runner up Erik ended with a very respectable 153. Paul Els also won the prize for the best nett score of 129 over the two days.

The best junior golfer prizes went to Steve Nel on 168 and Sbonelo Khumalo with a score of 226. Longest drive went to Rob Martin and closest to the pin on 2/11 to Piet Nel, and 9/18 Erik Kloppers.

A very fitting end to this 2009 brilliant championship was the final three ball coming in on the 27th hole, par three. All the players and their families supporting, special guests, TUTA CARRIERS sponsor, Geoff Newlands and chairman of the St Cathryn’s Garden and Book Club, Hugo Ortman watched from the main stand as Erik teed of pitched the green, lipped the hole and ended up three centimeters behind the hole, leading to great excitement amongst the spectators as the new champion, Paul and his playing partners Erik and Klaus, were welcomed onto the final green to big applause.

As usual the weekend ended with a superb lunch and culinary delights by served by Cathy and her assistants and the golf talk over cold beer and good wine continued well into the sunset, long after the last ball dropped.

ends

VIOLENCE FLARES IN ANC/IFP CONFRONTATION

Greytown Police have opened a case of Public Violence against both the ANC and IFP after a two hour stand off in Enhlalakahle on Sunday afternoon. A spokesman for the Police told the Greytown Gazette that when the Police arrived several hundred ANC members had blocked Khomba Road (near the school) to prevent a convoy of IFP members entering the area to campaign.

Police personnel attempted to negogiate with the ANC to allow the IFP through - but to no avail. When it became apparent, after an hour so that this was not going to happen, a Police spokesman suggested to the IFP that they turn their vehicles round and depart. As this was being discussed, some people at the back of the ANC group started throwing stones at the IFP who retaliated by firing shots. A free for all then developed with shots and stones flying - with the Police in the middle.
Four Police vehicles and several private vehicles were damaged by stones. There have been no confirmed reports of injuries to any individuals.

This incident is a very sad reflection on both parties who were signatories to the Electoral Code of conduct just two weeks ago and committed themselves and their followers to a free and fair election.

IFP Provincial secretary, Dr Bonginkosi Buthelezi said that “no help had been received from the SAPS” so that this breach of the electoral code of conduct had been reported to the IEC and “we expect the commission to take exemplary action against the ANC” said Dr Buthelezi

A Police spokesman disputed the statement that they had not taken action - being caught in the middle of the violence they had tried to negotiate but had had no success. ANC regional chair, MR P. Mavundla had attempted to control the unruly ANC supporters but also to no avai.l

With just two weeks to go until the General Election on Wednesday 22nd April it is of the utmost importance that every person be allowed the basic freedom and right of being able to choose, without intimidation, which political party to support.
All the political parties in South Africa have committed themselves to the electoral code of conduct for a free and fair election.
Why should Umvoti be different?

ENDS

RATEPAYERS RESPOND

Over four hundred objections to the new valuations in Greytown had been received by the Municipality at the cut off time last Friday. Mr F.Zuma, who is handling this matter said that the bulk were from residents; then businesses and not too many from the agricultural sector.

These objections will be looked into by the valuators who then have the option of increasing or decreasing the original valuation -if the difference is over 10% the ratepayer can appeal .

There was a surprisingly large turnout of ratepayers at last Wednesday's meeting of Ward 3 residents called by Councillors A.Shaik and P. Buss. Discussion from the stage and the floor centred on the implications of the new Act. Considerable concern was expressed at the 1.5 rate randage proposed in the Municipality's draft budget.
A recurring theme from the Councillors was that it was over to the residents to participate and make their thoughts, requests and objections known.

Public participation by the community was an essential cornerpost of all the new Acts governing the work of Municipalities and it was absolutely essential for all memebrs of the public to attend meetings at which the draft budget; draft rates policy; IDP etc. came up for discussion. The Councillors said that such meetings, in terms of the various Acts, had to be advertised, and it was up to the public to make every effort to attend.

In view of the interest shown by a number of those present, it was agreed that a Community committee be formed to monitor rates,draft budget, etc. Anyone interested in serving on this committee should attend its first meeting in the Town Hall on Wednesday 8th at 5.30 p.m.

ends

ELECTION SPECIAL VOTES

In a press release to the Greytown Gazette, the Umvoti MEO, Mr S.N.Malinga said that" the IEC office is prepared for the National and Provincial election on 22nd April 2009. All 56 voting stations have been confirmed and over 500 staff employed.
Special vote applications are now opened at the IEC office, shop no 2, 40 Bell Street (opposite the Town Offices) and will be accepted till 15th April. The public can still apply for special votes at their respective voting station?

Presiding officer on 20 April which will be the final date.
Those who have been sucessful will be visited on the 21st April.
We as the IEC appeal to all Political parties to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and be tolerant of other parties as tension will start to build up closer to the election date."

ENDS

EASTER ROUNDUP

With the build up to the elections; school holidays and incredible weather (at the time of writing this) there will be a lot of traffic on the roads in KZN and further afield. So - please drive carefully -do not speed-fasten your seatbelts and do NOT drink and drive. The most important thing for you and your family is to arrive safely and to return home safely.

A reminder of early deadlines for advertising and copy for the issue of Wednesday 15th April. Cut off time is this Thursday 9th April at 1 p.m. for classified and display adverts. The Greytown Gazette office will be open on Monday 13th April, Family Day from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Please an urgent appeal to anyone submitting reports on sports etc. -please do so as early as possible (so overworked editor can at least have the afternoon off!)

Most shops and banks will be open on Easter Saturday. Visitors to the town are welcome to play golf, tennis, bowls etc. Supermarkets and fast food outlets will be open for most of the weekend.
Churches will be holding special Easter services
St Theodores Catholic Church
Holy Thursday: 5.30 p.m.: Evening Mass
Good Friday:9 a.m.: Stations of the Cross3 p.m.: Celebration of the Lord’s Passion
Holy Saturday: 7 p.m.: Easter vigil
Easter Sunday 8.15 a.m.:Mass
St Peters Lutheran Church
Thursday: 6.30 p.m. Service
Good Friday: 7.45 a.m.: English Service
9.45 a.m.: Deutscher Gottsdienst
Easter Sunday: 7.45 a.m.: English service
9.45 a.m.:Deutscher Gottesdienst

Greytown Ministers’ fraternal invite all to attend an inter-denominational Easter sunrise service at Lake Merthley at 6 a.m. in Easter Sunday. Please take along a chair and blanket. Hot cross buns and coffee will be available after the service

ends

READERS WRITE

PERILOUS PAVEMENTS

Sir

I am a resident of Arcadia Home for the Aged, and am confined to a wheelchair. I have a motorised wheelchair so am able to “drive” myself to church, the chemist, the Seniors’ centre, the Wimpy etc.

But I have a terrible problem using the pavements as they have deteriorated to such an extent that it is impossible to drive my wheelchair along them. There are gaps between the paving stones; there are missing paving stones, and in some areas the entire pavement has washed away or crumbled.

I would like to appeal to the Municipality to please fix the pavements in Greytown and especially those around Arcadia. There are a number of elderly residents who like going for a walk, but this has become a dangerous exercise. Recently a resident tripped over the uneven paving, cut her face and broke her dentures

I now have to drive my wheelchair along the roads, where I am in danger of being hit by a car. Even using the road, it is almost impossible to move around town as there are so few ramps back onto the pavement that are not broken or crumbled.

Earl Browning

PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Sir,

The contract between Ubuntu Transport and Umvoti Municipality to transport refuse containers to the Pietermaritzburg landfill site expired on Tuesday 31st March 2009. We would like to thank our family, friends, clients, suppliers and our driver Vinesh Singh for their support over the last five years.

Thanks to Umvoti Municipality, its staff members, and all who helped in the execution of the contract, which has now come to a successful end.
Ubuntu Transport has closed its doors for business, so that famous “Ubuntu” truck that was a familiar sight on the PMB/Greytown road will be seen no more.

During the contract period we have rendered a reliable, efficient and uninterrupted service, even though there were a few hair raising moments that we will never forget. We had people come up to us almost on a daily basis saying, “We passed your truck on the road….We passed your truck on the road…”
. The last 12 months proved to be extremely difficult due to the reckless overloading of the refuse containers at the transfer station. As a result of this, Ubuntu received several overloading tickets from the RTI. The municipality has ordered a new truck which is expected to take over the container service as from July 2009. Ubuntu has been approached to bridge the gap for the next three months but has graciously declined due to the overloading issue mentioned above.

Nereen Rajnarain

UBUNTU TRANSPORT

R50 000 REWARD IN MURDER CASE

A reward of up to R50 000 has been offered by the Police for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of 48 year old Fikile Mthembu on Friday 20th March. The Mthembu family were sitting watching television , just after 8 p.m, when a gunman burst into the Khomba Road house, firing at random.

Fikile was shot, and her 83 year old mother, Albertina, and two others, Nonhlanhla and Thembani injured.Compounding the tragedy, the Greytown doctor who treated the three wounded has received death threats on his cellphone for treating the victims.

Police believe that the offer of the reward will provide information which will lead to the arrest of the guilty person. At this stage of the investigation the motive for the shootings is not known.

The Country Nursery is delighted to welcome Taru Thomas to the current team of Pippa Harris and Nomusa Buthelezi. Taru is well - known to Umvoti gardeners whom she has advised since moving here in 1994 - and through the seedling business she ran from home. She obtained her diploma in horticulture in her home country, Finland, and has many years of nursery experience. Taru is there in the morning and is available for consultations etc if needed.

The Country Nursery has an extensive range of indigenous and exotic plants, shrubs, trees, seedlings (bulk too), herbs and veggies etc. as well as composts, pot plants etc.

Open Monday to Fridays from 8 to 5 and till I p.m. on a Saturday.

The nursery, at the top end of Voortrekker Street is set in the most spectacular surrounds ...and there are exciting development plans in the pipeline too.

Although details are still somewhat sketchy about a major tourist development by internationally renowned entrepreneur Sol Kerzner, the Greytown Gazette managed to get a sneak preview.

Sol plans to invest billions of rands into damming the Umvoti River and developing the surrounding shore line. "It is time for me to put something back into this beautiful country and I am going to invest what ever it takes to succeed in developing this dream of mine” stated a very determined Kerzner to the Gazette reporter.

The proposed dam will flood the entire Umvoti vlei. A tunnel will be built over the R33 with a 700 meter glass section to enable travelers to view the fresh water coral beds created by controversial Brazilian scientist, Dr I. Fluud de Fley. For these exotic corals to survive water temperature has to be raised to a minimum 18 degrees C. which will be achieved by covering the steep South facing banks with solar panels.

On the opposite North shore ... a surfers' paradise with 5 km of white beaches and the world’s largest wave machine. Sol claims twice the power of the famous Sun City wave machine which was the first he installed. Along these pristine white beaches will be built a 500 room luxury hotel catering mainly for wealthy foreign tourists and local politicians.

Committed to benefiting all sectors of the community Mr Kerzner said apart from providing much needed employment, the increase in the dam's temperature would mean a more tropical climate with very positive agricultural spin offs for local farmers who will be able to diversify crops extensively.

Mrs. Ina Field, speaking on behalf of the government expressed enthusiastic excitement about the development.

Due to the magnitude of this this bold, daring and innovative development, Umvoti Vlei and Greytown are set to attract more visitors than Cape Town. One of the positive developments of this dramatic project is that the Greytown Gazette will be published daily to keep the thousands of readers fully informed.

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"Seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness" Autumn is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year in Umvoti. The first signs of autumn were captured on camera by Keith Simpson at Lake Merthley last weekend with the trees just starting to turn.

NEW RATES SHOULD NOT BE A “CASH COW"

There is nothing wrong with the legislation of the Municipal Property Rates Act ...it is the implementation by Municipalities that is causing major problems said Andrew Layman, CEO Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting in Greytown last week.

Highlighting problem areas, he said, many Municipalities had not consulted the public widely or well; valuation rolls are full of technical errors and careless mistakes leaving householders with the only option to appeal; a Municipality’s income requirements should not change much each year, except for inflation; Municipalities were not to increase rates by unreasonable amounts (beyond inflation) and commercial property cannot be overrated in terms of residential property; and rate randage should be related to the budget - there were many variables for rebates to schools etc and agriculture could be exempted from rates

In the Midlands, Pietermartizburg, Mooi River and Durban ratepayers had all protested at the errors, inequalities and, in some instances, rate randages. Mr Layman said that if the Municipality “fleeced” businesses and agriculture it would have a maximum negative growth impact on Umvoti economy. The new property rates system had been badly and sadly abused in some areas fuelled by a “cash cow” mentality.

These points raised above emphasise action taken by Umvoti Municipality in disregarding the Municipal Systems and Structures acts which clearly outline the necessity of public participation in matters affecting the communities. The Integrated Development Plan is the basis used by the Municipalities to inform the budget and it is possibly one of the most important public participation forums of the year.

However Umvoti Municipality held an IDP meeting last Tuesday - even Umvoti Councillors were only notified the day before of this very important meeting. Because the Municipality was 48 hours too late in placing the IDP meeting notice in the Greytown Gazette (which circulates throughout the Umvoti Municipality and is widely read) and would have cost R 1 100 - the meeting notices were placed in the Witness (of which 440 are sold in Umvoti) and Ilanga. Cost of this to ratepayers - approximately R11,000.

The meeting was for amakhosi (none were at the meeting) business, residents, ngo’s, councillors etc, Adding insult to injury when the DA and ANC Councillors arrived at the 10 a.m. meeting it then was found that the IEC had booked the Town Hall for a workshop; so the IDP meeting moved to the Council Chamber -but a disciplinary hearing was being held - that it was then moved elsewhere

A Council meeting took place this Tuesday at which the draft budget was tabled. Frighteningly the rate randage being put forward by the Municipality is 1.5 cents in the rand - this could increase residential rates up to 400 percent. There are many areas of concern in the draft budget - some of which are:

increase from this years salaries bill from R8 to R15 million;

transport from R860 000 to 3 million rand;

consultants -R2 million increase on this years budget;

conference/delegation -up to half a million;

an additional R400 000 for security.

And so on.

Both the ANC and DA Councillors have expressed their concern at the unprofessional procedure being followed in regard to the Umvoti IDP and draft budget - it is sincerely hoped that the IFP majority in Council will ensure that a further IDP meeting is held to conform with the requirements of the various Municipal Acts and in terms of the budget.

Greytown Gazette sincerely hopes that Umvoti residents will make their voices heard demanding that the proper procedures be followed and that every single member of the public wishing to comment, participate, agree or disagree, can do so!

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FROM THE DITCH

Greytown Bowling Club hosted two teams from Howick over the weekend. First fours of Cherry Wulfsohn, Brian Paul, Jacques Minnaar and Derrick Balfour had a convincing win over their opponents. The second team of Tony Smith, Gerhard Balzer, Clive McLaughlan and Chris Fischer also resoundingly beat their Howick opponents.

This weekend the teams will play Eddies away in the third round of the Fourth League Division.

The very popular B.A. Dowson tournament takes place this month - only a few teams still to confirm entry. It is now open to mixed teams - in the past it was men only.

Club championships draw is on the notice board - please play your match as soon as possible.

Sannie Balzer and Pam Paul played in the NIBA league against Hilton and were victorious in beating Hilton 22 -16. Sannie unfortunately, in the singles, lost to a stronger opponent 21 -18. This was an exciting match which took 26 ends to complete.

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GREYTOWN COUNTRY CLUB NEWS

Wednesday’s golf was won by J de Nysschen and R Aulfes with 40 points - better ball.

Friday’s Chicken run was won by Pam Paul in a draw out with R Aulfes. 4 Golfers had the same scores and we had to draw for a winner. Congratulations! Good to see a lady winning!

Friday night’s Happy Hour Meal was sponsored by Adendorff’s. Thank you very much. The R1000 draw went to Richard Jones. Good Luck and spend it wisely. E Malunga won the bottle of Chivas Regal.

Saturday’s monthly mug sponsored by Mascor was won by J de Nysschen on 71; 2nd M Msomi on 72 and 3rd S v\d Merwe on 74 points. Best stableford was E Malunga. Congratulations.

Dates to diarise: Friday 3 April the attendance draw is worth R500.

Golf : Club Champs on Saturday and Sunday, 4th and 5th of April. Please support and entries at the Club.

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LAST MINUTE VALUATIONS APPEALS

Over 100 objection forms have been taken by local ratepayers wanting to lodge an appeal on the valuation of their homes, businesses or farms.

Deadline is this Friday and it is very important that anyone intending to object, and who has not yet done so, attends the meeting in the Town Hall at 5.30 p.m. on Wednesday 1st April. This is for ratepayers in Wards 2 and 3 and has been called by the Ward Councillors.

To convey the importance of either accepting or objecting, ratepayers should realise that Umvoti Council is proposing a rate randage of 1.5c in its draft budget which is under discussion.

This would mean, for example - a residence valued at R500 000 would, at 1.5 cents in the rand, be rated at R7 500 for the year. Using this proposed rate randage, ratepayers should estimate what they could be paying on the new valuations in the new financial year.

As this proposed amount is still in draft, the Ward meetings will centre on discussions on the appeal process and problems arising out of incorrect valuations.

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READERS WRITE

WHAT IS GOING ON IN GREYTOWN?

Sir

Once again I have to ask the question, “what is happening to our Municipality”?

It appears that our officials are not forward planning and are therefore not meeting crucial deadlines. For example:

Integrated Development Plan (I.D.P) meeting: This is a very important meeting which should be attended by Amakhosi, businessmen, farmers, Councillors, residents, Government Departments etc. and was held on Tuesday 24th March. The only notification was an advert in the Witness and Ilanga. Nothing in our local Gazette which services our district. Councillors were only informed the day before.

No Amakhosi, businessmen, farmers or residents attended the meeting. The officials now have to bulldoze Council into rubber stamping whatever actions they wish to take, even though they are flouting established procedures.

Refuse removal: Our current 5 year contract expired at the end of March and will not be renewed .Our truck is on order but will only be available towards the end of May. We knew months ago that the contract would not be renewed and should have had our vehicle available to continue with an uninterrupted service. We are still at this late state trying to find a contractor for the interim period. This situation is just not good enough.

D.A.Councillor P.R. Buss

Editor’s note:

The Municipality attempted to place the IDP in the Greytown Gazette but missed the deadline by 48 hours. As a matter of economic interest to ratepayers: the cost of placing two ads in the Witness - R8 000 and one in Illanga - just under R4 000! The cost of the two same sized ads in the Greytown Gazette is R 1 100.

ST CATHRYN'S NEWS

The TUTA CARRIERS Club Champs will take place this Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th April. So far we have a field of 18 players - which means there will be some good competition.

Tee-off from 11 A.M. - we will be playing in three balls. Please will all members let Piet know should you wish to play. We will have a braai on Saturday night - please bring your own meat and we can all enjoy lunch on Sunday with the new champion!

As usual with Club Champs, two pin positions will be placed on greens 1 and 8. The ninth green will be open for practising chipping and putting on the morning of Club Champs. We will be competing in the A div; B div; and C div; ladies div and Junior div.

The nineth St Cathryn's Classic will take place on Saturday 2 May, so please keep the date in your diary. To contact Piet 033 4441945 or 083 269 1661.

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KEIVAN STUD AT YEARLING SALES

Horse lovers should tune into Channel 232 (DSTV) this weekend to see live coverage of the annual national yearling sales taking place in Johannesburg. Vanessa Williams of Keivan Stud, Kranskop will be there with five yearlings - 3 colts and 2 fillies.

In an interview with the Greytown Gazette Vanessa said that one of the colts “Raining Sixes” should attract a lot of interest - he scored 9 out of 10 when the Panel inspected him last November.

His sire sired “Jay Peg” who is currently campaigning in Dubai where he won a Group 1 last season -worth over three million dollars!

Together with the Keivan Stud personnel, Sken, Senzo, Mkomseni, Nyoni and Bongi, Vanessa is hoping, despite the economic downturn, to do well. Her yearlings fall into the middle bracket so she is sure she will do the stud and Umvoti proud.